Pier 21, Immigration museum in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada
Pier 21 is an immigration museum in Halifax, Nova Scotia, housed in a former passenger terminal beside the train station on the waterfront. The building extends along Marginal Road and connects multiple floors with exhibit halls, research areas, and a family history room.
Between 1928 and 1971, the facility handled more than one million immigrants, refugees, and war brides arriving in Canada across the Atlantic. A fire in 1944 led to rebuilding efforts, after which the processing areas were expanded.
The building preserves spaces where families took their first steps on Canadian soil and had their travel papers stamped. Visitors can trace how newcomers once waited in holding areas for health inspections and interviews before being allowed to enter the country.
The museum sits at 1055 Marginal Road in Halifax and offers guided tours as well as access to archival materials for family research. Several permanent exhibits are open year-round, while rotating special displays are refreshed regularly.
Visitors can walk along a narrow platform over recreated ship planks that simulate the gangway crossing. This passage leads directly into the area where newcomers filled out their first forms and waited for instructions from port staff.
The community of curious travelers
AroundUs brings together thousands of curated places, local tips, and hidden gems, enriched daily by 60,000 contributors worldwide.
